B Mark VI on arriving at Celone, Italy, after a ferry flight from Canada. Likely in the first months of 1944, as this is when
31 Squadron SAAF was re-equipping with Liberators. in the
Imperial fortress of
Bermuda during World War II. This base was used throughout the war for trans-Atlantic ferrying of flying boats such as the
Catalinas to the rear of photo, which were flown there from United States factories to be tested prior to acceptance by the Air Ministry and delivery across the Atlantic.
RAF Transport Command flights (such as those flown by the
Coronados in the foreground) also utilised the airfield. The practice of ferrying aircraft from US manufacturers to the UK was begun by the
Ministry of Aircraft Production. Its minister,
Lord Beaverbrook, a Canadian by origin, reached an agreement with
Sir Edward Beatty, a friend and chairman of the
Canadian Pacific Railway Company, to provide ground facilities and support. MAP would discreetly provide civilian crews and management. Previously, aircraft had been assembled, dismantled and then transported by ship across the Atlantic, and were subject to long delays and frequent attacks by German U-Boats. Former RAF officer
Don Bennett, a specialist in long-distance flying and later Air Vice Marshal and commander of the
Pathfinder force, led the first test delivery formation flight in November 1940. Aircraft were first transported to
Dorval Airport near Montreal, and then flown to
RCAF Station Gander in
Newfoundland for the trans-Atlantic flight. and radio operators. The crews were briefed by local meteorologists including
R. E. Munn. After completing delivery, crews were eventually flown back to Canada, returning to Dorval for their next run. Ferry Command was formed on 20 July 1941, by the raising of the RAF Atlantic Ferry Service to Command status. Its commander for its whole existence was
Air Chief Marshal Sir
Frederick Bowhill. Ferry Command originally did this over only one northern area of the world, rather than the more general routes that Transport Command later developed, including routes over the jungles of South America and Africa and the deserts of North Africa and the Middle East. Ferry Command's operational area was initially the North Atlantic, and its responsibility was to bring the larger aircraft that had the range to do the trip over the ocean, with the addition of extra fuel tanks, from American and Canadian factories to the RAF home commands. In summer 1945, 45 Group included No. 112 (North Atlantic) Wing at Dorval, with 231 Squadron, 5 Aircraft Preparation Unit, 6 Ferry Unit all at Dorval; 6 APU at Bermuda; 313 Ferry Training Unit at North Bay; and RAF Station Reykjavik with the RAF Hospital there and No. 9 Mechanical Transport Company. By the end of the war, crossing the Atlantic had become an almost routine operation, presaging the inauguration of scheduled commercial air transport services after the war. ==In media==